Retina International Youth Conference 2025

Описание: Saturday, 27 September 2025
16:00 CET – 18:00 CET
Online via Zoom

The 2025 Retina International World Youth Conference is a unique event bringing together young people from across the globe to learn, connect, and be inspired.

This conference showcased the experiences of young leaders living with visual impairment and highlighted opportunities in research, advocacy, and career development. It also marked World Retina Day on September 28.

Hosts: Marina Leite and Vincent Fuchs, RI Youth Council

Participants:
Dr. Nabin Paudel
Head of Research & Programmes at Retina International, Nabin is an optometrist and vision scientist with over 8 years of research experience. His work focuses on quality of life, low vision, and patient-led research. He’s also passionate about science communication, mentoring, and public engagement.

Catherine Marrache
Born with optic nerve atrophy, Catherine has lived in Brazil, France, England, and Belgium. Today, she teaches French and English and works as a massage therapist. Despite being visually impaired, Catherine says she has always done what she wanted in life. Of course, challenges have arisen, but everything has been a learning experience.

Sebastian Sutter
Based in Zurich, Sebastian is a lawyer at Bär & Karrer. With a Master of Law from the University of Lucerne and the University of Oklahoma, he combines his legal expertise with lived experience of visual impairment to inspire others on their career journeys.

Stuart Haxell
Stuart Haxell, 31, from Sligo, is a Tech Trainer with Fighting Blindness Ireland. He is also the first patient in Ireland to undergo pioneering ocular gene therapy at the Mater Hospital, Dublin. Living functionally blind for over a decade due to the rare inherited condition Leber congenital amaurosis, Stuart regained partial sight in late 2024 after receiving Luxturna, a groundbreaking gene therapy recently approved by the HSE. Stuart is also an accomplished sportsman, ranking number one in Blind Tennis in Ireland.

Cindy G. Boer
Cindy G. Boer, 36, from the Netherlands, is a professor of functional genomics whose research is widely published in the field of genetics. Living with Usher syndrome, she has been severely hearing impaired since childhood and began losing her night vision as a teenager, later receiving a diagnosis during her PhD studies in 2017. Despite the challenges of progressive vision and hearing loss, Cindy has built a successful academic career through openness and support from colleagues. Beyond her work, she embraces her passions, including living history and medieval sword-fighting demonstrations in custom 15th-century armour.